Improvement in suspenders



, in four parts, and these parts have been united in vaknownway.

Matted (Stabat me one.

O. POTTER AND JOSEPH W.

SMITH, OF SAME PLAOE.

Lette/rs Paten-t No. 100,886, dated March 15, 1870.

' IMPROVEMENT IN SUSPENDERS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

I, BENJAMIN J. GBEELY, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Suspenders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings making a part of this specilication, in which- Figure l shows one part of' my improved suspender, with the metal part of the back, which metal part is shown inig. 2.

My invention relates to that kind'of suspender consisting of four straps of webbing or leather united by a metal link at the back.

Suspenders have frequently been made heretofore rions ways, as by metal rings, by a diamond-shaped loop, and by other suitable. device in metal.

My device, however, will be found to difer from every other device for this purpose in the following particulars: g

The upper part a a is substantially the same as parts in the devices shown in the rejected applications of William O. Hicks, led January 20, 1857, and W. S. Mallory, filed December 9, 1858, and in Letters Patent granted to me January 9, 1864, No. 41,295; but the lower part b differs wholly from any part of the devices shown in Hicks or Mallory, and neither of these devices `has any part at all similar to the interior brace which connects together and braces the ring portion b and the straight pieces a a in my device.

The diamond-shaped link shown in fig. 1 oi my Letters Patent above referred to, differs from my present device in these two essential respects: iirst, there is no brace to connect and hold together the ends of the fur sides of the diamond-shaped link, and conscqnently the stiffness ofthe metal is relied upon solely to give strength to that link; second, the two sides of the link corresponding to the ring portion b of my device are formed precisely like the upper portion a a of my device, and these necessitate the use of two separate short straps, while a single strap may be used with the ring portion of my device, so that it may play over the ring portion, or t'wo straps may bejoinedt'ogether so as to play over the ring portion in the wellent from the brace in my-device.

'lhe other form of link, shown in Figure 2 of my Letters Patent aforesaid, diiiers from my present device in these two essential respects: rst, the brace holds only one end ofthe two pieces corresponding to thc pieces a a', instead of holdingr those pieces at each end as my brace does; and second, the brace divides the lower half of the link-that portion of it which corresponds to the ring portion of mydevice-into two parts.

From these differences it resnltshat the brace in that device is defective, and also substantially di'er- It also prevents, even more eiiectnally than the angle in the lower halt' of the link shown in tig. 1 of that patent, the use of a single strap, or oi' two straps joined together, and arranged to .play on a single straight or slightly curved wire.

The best method known tome of manufacturing these links is by stamping them ont of thin sheet-- metal and rolling the edges in the well-known way.

I do not claim broadly the two inclined straight pieces a a', as these are old and well known, nor do I claim the curved piece b, nor the triangular brace, but limit myself to a device made up of these three parts when each end of the two pieces a a' and of the piece b is attached to the brace.

My device, in fact, consists pi' the upper part of the device shown in Mallorys application, and the lower portion of the ring used in a common forni of suspender, united together, and each piece securely held at each end by the brace.

I prefer to make the piece b curved, as thereby the short straps are caused to diverge from each other; but it may be straightwhen a single strap playing over it, or two straps joined together so as to play over it are used.

I claim as my invention- The device herein described, consisting of the pieces a c and b,-when connected together and each piece held at each ond by an interior brace, in the manner described.

' B. J. GREELY. lVitnesses C. R. WINsLoW, J'. E. MAYNADIER. 

